Cleveland’s game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday was postponed due to COVID issues, which marked the first MLB game postponed this season due to COVID. Cleveland was not scheduled to play on Thursday, but they are set to be back in action on Friday against Minnesota. They will just have a very thin coaching staff.
Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis is set to manage on Friday. The reason he is scheduled to manage is because he’s the only man left standing.
Seven Cleveland coaches are in COVID protocols, including:
– Manager Terry Francona
– Bench coach DeMarlo Hale
– Hitting coach Chris Valaika
– Asst pitching coach Joe Torres
– First base coach Sandy Alomar
– Third base coach Mike Sarbaugh
– Hitting analyst Justin Toole
That’s quite a list.
Francona tested positive for the virus prior to Wednesday’s game but was said to be asymptomatic.
Cleveland is 15-15 this season. If they perform well this weekend without their coaching staff, Cleveland’s notoriously-cheap organization might consider going coachless for the future. Imagine the financial savings.
More must-reads: